West Texas A&M Lady Buffs return home

The West Texas A&M women’s basketball team notched its first road win of the season Saturday by beating Texas A&M-Kingsville, 72-48, and head coach Krista Gerlich said she hopes that gives her players confidence as they enter the heart of their Lone Star Conference schedule.

“They’re in a very fragile place right now, and they were really excited about Kingsville,” Gerlich said. “They’ve just got a lot of good basketball in front of them.”

That stretch of basketball facing the Lady Buffs begins when WT (7-9, 3-4) faces Texas A&M-Commerce (5-7,3-4) at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the First United Bank Center in Canyon.

Gerlich said she has been pleased with how her team has fought hard in the second half in recent games.

The Lady Buffs outscored Incarnate Word by 10 points Thursday in the second half of a 51-50 loss, and they outscored Texas A&M-Kingsville on Saturday by 21 points.

“I felt like we are certainly playing some of our better basketball,” Gerlich said. “Against Kingsville, we turned the basketball over a lot, but we still found a way to win and got in our groove in the second half.”

One of the recent bright sports for WT has been the play of junior forward Devin Griffin, Gerlich said.

Griffin has filled the void left when junior guard Lacee Logan, who averaged 13.2 points per game, tore her ACL on Dec. 16. Griffin has led WT in scoring in five of its last six games and pulled down the most rebounds in three of those games. She recorded double-doubles in each of the last two games.

“She definitely has kind of settled into her role, and she’s being a little bit more calm on the court, understanding and playing in a good game rhythm,” Gerlich said. “She’s certainly put us on her back at times.”

WT will need Griffin to have another strong game against Texas A&M-Commerce, which is led by junior forward Breanna Harris, who is averaging a double-double for the season with 13.8 points per game and 10.1 rebounds per game.

Gerlich said WT will have to play a fundamentally solid game that includes taking advantage of easy shots and rebounding well.

“They’re really athletic, and they’re much more disciplined this year than they have been in the past,” Gerlich said. “It’s going to be a great ballgame.”

Texas A&M-Commerce enters n a two game losing streak after losing 67-56 Saturday at Cameron.

WT will go on another two-game road trip after Wednesday’s game, beginning with a 5 p.m. game Saturday against conference-leading Tarleton State in Stephenville.